Pentagon Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kall told reporters Monday that Vladimir Putin’s forces are taking “huge casualties.” “There’s a lot of fog in the war, but I think it’s safe to say that the Russians probably have 70 or 80,000 casualties in less than six months. Now that’s a combination of killed in action and wounded in action and that number might be a little lower, a little higher, but I think it’s kind of in the ballpark,” Mr. Kahl said. It comes as the US imposed an additional $1 billion in new military aid to Ukraine. The aid includes additional missiles for the High Mobility Artillery Missile Systems, or Himars, as well as thousands of artillery shells, mortar systems, javelins and other munitions and equipment. U.S. officials say Kheimari and the artillery systems have been vital in Ukraine’s ongoing fight to try to prevent Russia from gaining more ground. The latest announcement brings total U.S. security aid pledged to Ukraine by the Biden administration to about $9 billion since Russian troops invaded in late February. “At every stage of this conflict, we have focused on getting the Ukrainians what they need, depending on the evolving conditions on the battlefield,” Mr Kahl said in announcing the new arms shipment. Until now, the largest single security aid package announcement was for $1 billion on June 15. But that aid included $350 million in presidential withdrawal authority and another $650 million under the Ukraine Security Initiative. Monday’s package allows the US to deliver weapons systems and other equipment more quickly by taking them off Defense Department shelves. In the last four months of the war, Russia has focused on seizing the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, where Moscow-backed separatists have controlled some territory as self-proclaimed republics for eight years. Russian forces have made incremental advances in the region while launching rocket and missile attacks to restrict the movement of Ukrainian fighters elsewhere. Meanwhile, both Ukraine and Russia have agreed to let UN inspectors visit the Zaporizhia nuclear facility amid fears of a second Chernobyl. Additional reports from agencies